


Of Knights and Dragons

by green_lemonboys



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, and wilder, but gayer, its funny cuz everyone is a disaster, its rapunzel, kinghts and dragons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 06:22:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19717993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/green_lemonboys/pseuds/green_lemonboys
Summary: Cyrus has been sent to fight the same dragon for the past year, and frankly he is getting bored. But, what happens when something is revealed about someone Cyrus had tried to forget about?(Tyrus and Ambris)





	Of Knights and Dragons

"Shit, here we go again," Cyrus whispered, and Amber stifled a giggle, resulting in a snort, raising the eyebrows of the other councillors. 

"We need you to ride out to the tower in the forest and bring the dragon under control, Ser Goodman," The Queen said, her smile sweet but concerned. "And check if the princess is alive and well."

"As you say, your Majesty" Cyrus said, bowing down. "I swear, someday, I'm gonna end up retiring before that dragon leaves this place," Cyrus grumbled under his breath, as he got up. Amber, who stood beside the Queen, gave him a sympathetic smile as he walked away. He flashed a reassuring smile at her before heading out of the throne room to the stables. 

"Hey Jonah," Cyrus said with a pleasant smile, and the boy brushing down the horse's coat turned around with his characteristic smile. Cyrus walked up to his horse, Philip, and petted him, cooing slightly. 

"Forest again?" Jonah asked, putting down the brush and grabbing the saddle from the hook. Cyrus groaned, nodding. Jonah laughed, shaking his head. "That's one hell of a dragon."

"Tell me about it," Cyrus said in a deadpanned voice. 

"You must really care about the princess to always go after it."

"Well, this is mostly the Queen's prompting, I have nothing to say about who goes after it."

"But still, there must be a reason she always picks you. Because if it was a matter of sending the best knight, you and I both know Driscoll would be the one saddling up," Jonah said with a smirk as he fixed the saddle on Philip. 

Cyrus just shrugged. "Well, Buffy is needed to maintain borders in case the neighbouring kingdoms decide they're bored and wanna do some invading. So I'm the next best option."

Jonah chuckled, fixing the saddle and tightening it. "You're avoiding the topic of the princess. You should try and save her, you know. Then you could actually get together. It'd be perfect!"

Cyrus just sighed, looking at Jonah with a forced smile. _But I don't like that princess. Or any princess. Or any girl. I just wanna sit down in the library with a cute boy and read for hours but here I am trudging into a forest for a girl. At least the dragon is vaguely interesting._

Jonah just shook his head in amusement. "Anyway, you're all set. Which horse is this by the way?" Jonah asked, his voice suddenly growing flustered. "God, doing this alone is really tough. This was easier when…"

"Yeah I know," Cyrus said sadly, trying to avoid having to hear his name. But it reverberated in his mind. As it did every time he walked into the stables, when he saw Jonah tending to the horses instead of him. 

Jonah looked up at him. "Still no clue where?"

Cyrus just shook his head, running his hand over the saddle on Philip's back. Jonah nodded, pursing his lips. 

"How you holding up?"

Cyrus smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I’ve always been okay." With that, he climbed up into Philip, clutching the reins as he rode out of the stables. Only to come back within 5 seconds, Jonah holding out his sword with his left hand, not even looking up from the ground. 

"I knew that, I planned that," Cyrus fumbled, before riding away, leaving Jonah laughing softly to himself. 

*

It wasn't all bad, having to ride out almost every two days into the forest. At least the ride was scenic, the cool wind and quiet giving Cyrus a brief respite from the crowd of the kingdom. Frankly, a part of Cyrus envied Princess Iris, wherever she was. Rumours were all that said she lived in the tower that the dragon made its home near. Even Cyrus myself had only caught glimpses of a girl in the tower, and even then he couldn't be sure it was the lost princess. For all he knew it could be a random girl who had been kidnapped by a wicked witch because her mom owed her the firstborn child, and now she had grown up in the tower, and in alternate universes she would have magical hair. 

But that was too ridiculous to even be a story. Philip trotted leisurely through the woods, the birds chirping around them. Cyrus had lost himself in the sounds, his drowsiness catching up to him. The sounds of the forest were enough to make his eyes close. He hadn't been sleeping well for a long time now. To be exact, almost 2 years. Ever since he had gone missing. The princess had left a few months before that, never to be heard from since. The panic the kingdom had dissolved into wasn't one Cyrus liked remembering. 

But now, in the forest, sleep seemed possible. He could just rest on Philip and be carried down, down the road. The reason he was there faded away, and his eyes shut, and Cyrus slumped forward onto Philip's back, the best sleep he was going to have in the past 2 years. 

"FACE ME, BRAVE AND STRONG PUNY KNIGHT!" came a growl from ahead. 

_He was going to fucking kill the dragon for that._

Cyrus rubbed his eyes, stifling a yawn. He pulled the reins, making Philip stop as he grabbed the hilt of his sword and swung off the horse, heading to the tower on foot. 

"And in 3, 2 and 1," Cyrus whispered to himself, looking up with a neutral face at the 30 foot green and blue dragon in front of him. Its scales were the size of his entire arm, a gash running down its side. Its claws were massive, and everyone in the kingdom always went on about how it was 'a God-given miracle' that Cyrus was still alive. But honestly, after a year of this gig, Cyrus had realised that the dragon was a fucking wimp. But then again, so was Cyrus. So they would pretend to kick each other's asses, throw some benign threats around, maybe Cyrus would brandish his sword a bit, but ultimately the dragon would retreat, almost spectacularly disappearing completely from sight, and Cyrus would settle down by a nearby tree and read for a while. It was usually around when the dragon disappeared that Cyrus caught a glimpse of brown hair and a gown in the window of the nearby brick tower. But he thought nothing of it, just wanting to spend as much of the peace and quiet he got relaxing before heading back to the routine and noise and sleeplessness. 

"TREMBLE BEFORE ME!" the dragon roared, flaring its nostrils as it rose. 

Cyrus sighed, holding up a hand in a wave. "Hey there buddy. Um, I'm kinda tired, so can we do the whole 'Tremble before me' and 'Take my sword' bit faster than usual?" he said, running a hand through his hair. 

The dragon tilted its head to one side, clearly confused. But soon, it steadied itself, positioning itself in a battle stance, ready to fight. 

Cyrus lifted his sword, hit suddenly by immense exhaustion. _How long had it been since he had slept for a whole night? Probably a couple weeks, if not months. No matter, he had to do this,_ he thought to himself, holding up his sword. 

The dragon snarled in the way it usually did, making it seem like something bad was going to happen, but till then the only injury Cyrus had sustained was one that he had gotten himself by tripping over a rock and the dragon growled as if it was laughing at him. 

Cyrus looked up at its face, its green eyes looking with fire in them, and he couldn't shake the exhaustion he was feeling. His vision grew hazy, and suddenly the sword felt heavy in his hand. Well, _heavier_ than normal. Cyrus squinted, looking up at the tower, and in his haze, he swore he could see a girl with outstretched hands, her palms held as if they were manipulating something. But he had to be hallucinating. 

Until she caught his eye. 

He could hear her yelling, setting down her hands. He tried to listen closely, her words sounding like, "Eejay, eejay-"

_No. No way. Not that name he had spent too long trying to forget that name for it to haunt him._

By then, Cyrus' head had grown light, and his knees gave way under him and he fell to the ground. He lost grip of his sword, falling into the ground. Cyrus lay on the ground, struggling to keep his vision from going black. 

_Was it just him or was the dragon fading?_ Cyrus blinked, his vision closing in. His breath grew shallow as it grew dark. 

The last thing he remembered was someone lifting his head up, and green. The green he had only seen in someone's eyes a while ago. 

*

Peeling open his eyes, the first thing Cyrus noticed was that he wasn't lying in the grass, the distinct lack of grass scratching his face and going in his ears. In fact, he was lying on a comfortable and roomy chaise lounge, the red velvet caressing his cheeks. Cyrus winced, the light temporarily blinding him as he looked around the room. 

It was quite a homely place. There were bookshelves lining the wall directly in front of him, a large window to its left. A bed was in the corner, nearly made, and the walls were exposed stone, giving the room a warm toned light. There was a staircase to the other side, leading downwards, so he was probably on the topmost level. Cyrus caught a glimpse out of the window, and did a double take. 

He was higher than he had ever been. Which meant… 

_He was in the tower._

With that thought, he jerked up, his head pounding. But someone held him back, pushing his head back down onto the pillow.

“You need to rest,” said a gentle voice, pushing his hair back. Cyrus peered up, trying to see who it was, and caught sight of them. Long brown hair, warm hazel eyes and a soft smile on her face. Despite her protests, Cyrus pushed himself up, bowing his head before her. 

“Princess Iris,” he said, keeping his head down. “Good fortune it is to see you well.”

But Iris just waved her hands before her, shaking her head. “Yeah, drop this ‘Princess’ business and all that old talk, please. I’m cool with normal language.”

“Oh thank fuck,” Cyrus sighed, resting back against the pillow, earning a loud laugh from Iris.

“Wow, that was quick.”

“I was dreading having to talk like I’m a walking lexicon.”

Iris shook her head in amusement, getting up to head to the next room. Cyrus was mildly surprised to see her sporting a simple shirt and trousers, but that wasn’t something he really cared about. She walked back in a few moments later, holding a tray with tea and biscuits. 

“How long was I out?” Cyrus asked, rubbing his eyes. 

“A while. But don’t worry, the sun is still up,” Iris said with a shrug, handing him the teacup. She watched Cyrus sip the tea quietly, as he weighed the option of him going absolutely to town on the biscuits because he had not eaten a single thing all day at the expense of his dignity before the princess She sighed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “So, I guess now that you’ve found me, you will be courting me?”

At that sentence, Cyrus choked on his tea, sputtering, but immediately covering his mouth. “What?!” he choked out, coughing to cover it up, as Iris stared at him with wide eyes. “What? Is that what you think?”

Iris just shrugged, looking at him curiously. 

Cyrus shook his head, looking down at his feet. “I, I’m not gonna do that. Sorry, Princess. I’m not looking for that.”

“I told you, no ‘Princess’ business. And, why not? Any knight in your position would’ve jumped at the opportunity.”

“Sorry,” Cyrus gasped, looking at her with a small smile. “Well, I’m not really looking for that. No offence to you, you seem lovely and amazing, but. Well, princesses aren’t my type.”

“What do you mean by that?” Iris asked, her tone defensive as she straightened up. Cyrus shook his head vehemently, holding out his hand.

“No no no, I didn’t mean it like that! Shit,” he muttered, looking at the ceiling. “I meant, princes are more my type,” he said with a nervous shrug.

It took her a minute, but soon Iris was hit by realisation, and she let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god! I’m so, so sorry. I meant, I just misunderstood. My type is princesses.”

“Oh great!” Cyrus said with a smile, letting a small laugh out.

They sat in relative silence, Cyrus finishing his tea. Now that he had gained back some of his strength, he got up and walked over to the window, looking around at the nearby woods.

“What happened?” Iris asked, walking up behind him. 

“Where did that dragon go?” Cyrus muttered, and he heard a sharp intake of breath from Iris.

“What?” she asked, her voice shaky. Cyrus turned around to look at her, laughing a bit.

“Hope it hasn’t bothered you. But honestly, it’s kind of okay, it never hurts me and stuff. It’s almost like it’s just there to draw me out to the woods everyday,” Cyrus said with a laugh, soon narrowing his eyes. “Although, I did think I saw it fading away? But I was also fainting at that exact moment, and I thought I heard someone call this person’s name.”

“Cyrus,” Iris said quietly, making Cyrus turn around to look at her.

“What?”

“There’s something you need to know,” she said nervously, and Cyrus furrowed his eyebrows. “But I can’t tell you everything.”

Cyrus was about to ask what was going on, but then he heard a voice speak up from another room.

“I can explain.”

The voice alone made Cyrus freeze up, memories from more than two years ago, of soft laughs, of stolen glances and his heart beating out of his chest as he hid it all behind his eyes, all pulled out from behind the wall he had tried to build every night he couldn’t sleep since that fateful day.

But then Cyrus turned around, and his eyes met green, the same green that had kept him up every night, the same green he had seen before passing out just a few hours ago.

TJ.

“Hey Cyrus,” TJ said softly, nervously wringing his hands. 

“Seriously? Hey?” Cyrus said, his voice coming out harsh, but he couldn’t find it in himself to hold it back, even if the wince TJ gave broke his heart. Yeah, the same heart that was suddenly speeding up. _Emotions._

“Cyrus,” TJ started, trying to explain himself, but Cyrus cut him off.

“No TJ. You go ahead and **_disappear_** for two fucking years, and I think you’re dead, and all the while you’ve been here, just a short distance away, and you didn’t think to tell me?!” Cyrus said, his voice rising. “Do you have any idea what you going missing did to me? Cuz guess what? The answer is what just happened! I haven’t fucking slept well in 2 years because every time I try to your fucking face keeps me up!”

TJ just stood there, letting Cyrus yell whatever he needed to, with every second getting closer to him. Iris just stood there, looking between the two of them, TJ’s face was calm, but his eyes were brimming with tears, but not of sadness. He walked up close to Cyrus, who was losing steam, and tears filled his eyes. 

“And now here you are, just fucking saying hey. Like it’s completely casual, and like you didn’t leave for 2 years and just hang me out to dry. And you aren’t dead, thank fuck you aren’t dead, I don’t know what I would’ve done,” Cyrus said, his last few words gasps as he finally let the tears fall, collapsing into TJ’s arms, clinging onto him tight as his body was wracked with sobs. TJ just held him, letting some tears fall as he held Cyrus, letting his fingers thread through his hair. 

“I’m so sorry Cyrus,” TJ whispered into Cyrus’ ear, pushing his hair back as he rested his head on his shoulder. “I’m so so sorry, I didn’t wanna do that to you. But shit happened, and I had to leave. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how safe it was.”

“But what happened?” Cyrus asked softly, finally gaining his composure as he looked up at TJ. “What happened that you left? And what does that have to do with Iris and the dragon?”

TJ looked down. “It’s a long story.”

*

“So let me get this straight,” Cyrus said as he gulped down another cup of tea. Iris snorted in the corner.

“Literally no one in this room is straight,” she muttered, and TJ stifled a laugh as Cyrus rolled his eyes at her. 

“Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted by Iris with the bad jokes,” he said, catching the pillow Iris tossed at him. “You left because of what happened with your mom, but you got lost in the woods and Iris helped you out by taking you in and taking care of you. So you just continued living here. But where does the dragon come in?”

TJ nodded, looking back at Iris. “Um, how do I say this without being weird?”

“He made me conjure a dragon every time to which he gave the voice with this weird sound device he built in the basement. Just so that he could see you regularly when you would come to slay it like a dumb gay, instead of actually going up to you and talking to you like an actual human being,” Iris called out in a deadpanned voice, TJ staring at her, his jaw wide open. 

Cyrus looked over at TJ, raising an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Why ever would you think that?” TJ said, avoiding eye contact with Cyrus, finding a sudden interest in the placement of the stones in the walls of the tower.

Cyrus just laughed softly, grabbing TJ’s hand. “Even when you were home, you only watched me from the stables, it’s okay. Just like that time, I have to make the first move.”

“Wait, you saw me all those times?!”

“Well, duh. I’m a knight, TJ, I have impeccable observational skills. That, and Buffy and Jonah would always look in your direction and give each other a ‘look’.”

“What look?”

“Like a, ‘there-he-goes-again-with-the-gay-pining’ look.”

“There’s no such thing,” TJ said, shaking his head. Cyrus just smiled in amusement, shrugging.

“It’s okay TJ. I didn’t mind it,” he replied, squeezing his hand, noting the way his cheeks were tinged pink.

“Hey while you two were busy flirting, the sun started to go down,” Iris called out, walking up to Cyrus, holding out an envelope. 

“Oh shit!” Cyrus yelled, looking out the window, as he grabbed his sword, latching on his armour. He looked down at the envelope Iris was holding out to him. “What’s that?”

“Something you should ask for at the apothecary to help with your sleep,” she said, and before Cyrus could protest, she held up a hand. “Just take it, and trust me. Can’t have you falling asleep while on duty.”

“Thanks, Iris,” he said gratefully, giving her a quick hug as he turned to the stairs. 

“I’ll walk you down,” TJ said, sharing a look with Iris before he walked down the stairs beside Cyrus, Iris flashing him a thumbs-up before going back into the other room.

They walked down the stairs in silence, both stealing glances at each other the whole way down. Cyrus had missed the way TJ made him feel, cherishing the feeling if he were to wake up and realise it had all been a dream. Finally, after some time walking, Cyrus looked over at TJ.

“You know, you could have waited to disappear after the day you were supposed to take me out on a date,” Cyrus said with a smirk. TJ laughed shortly, looking up slightly.

“Oh yeah, where were we gonna go?” he asked, the smile evident in his voice. 

“The library,” the two said simultaneously, causing the two to giggle slightly. 

TJ shook his head, his smile dropping slightly. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not mad about being stood up, TJ,” Cyrus laughed, but TJ grabbed his elbow and held him back. 

“That’s not all I’m sorry for, Cy,” TJ said softly. The old nickname made Cyrus’ heart flutter in his chest, a small smile on his face. “I’m sorry for everything I put you through. I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for you.”

“Hey,” Cyrus said quietly. “It’s okay. It sucked, but it was the same for you too. Not that I’m not still mad about all the sleepless nights,” Cyrus said, eliciting a small laugh from TJ. “But, here we are now.”

“Yeah,” TJ said, as they continued down the stairs.

Soon enough, Cyrus was standing in front of the door at the bottom. His hand hovered on the handle, as he slowly opened the door, pale moonlight now shining through the door, lighting up their faces in a silver glow. Cyrus turned back to look at TJ, who was looking at his shoes.

“I guess I won’t be seeing you, now that you know everything,” TJ whispered, wringing his hands. 

“Well,” Cyrus said, tilting his head to one side. “According to the Queen, the dragon is still a big problem. So, while it still exists, I’ll still be ordered to come here.”

“Is that so?” TJ said with a smirk, looking up at Cyrus, who nodded back at him.

Before he left, Cyrus leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to TJ’s cheek, touching their noses together, before pulling away.

“Philip misses you, by the way,” Cyrus whispered, before running out to where Philip was waiting for him, leaving TJ standing there, catching his breath.

_Maybe not sleeping was the best thing to have happened to him._

*

A few months passed by, and Cyrus’ schedule had changed slightly. Whenever the Queen would ask him to go ‘deal’ with the dragon, Cyrus would ride up to the tower, grab the key Iris had now left for him hidden under the rock by the white rose bush, and head up to the top of the tower where Iris would greet him with a high five and a book. TJ would be in the kitchen cooking up a storm, dishes that he would practically invent out of thin air, and Iris and Cyrus would always wait in anticipation at what delicacy he would cook up. Then, over lunch, Cyrus would relay all the juicy gossip fro the kingdom to the two, leading to several gasps and laughs.

“Wait, what?! Walker Brodsky and Jonah Beck?!” TJ gasped, Iris, laughing, unable to eat her salad. Cyrus would just nod, and TJ would throw his head back, giving his commentary as the other two just sat back and laughed. 

Then, after lunch, Iris would go into her room for some time, leaving Cyrus and TJ alone outside. Usually, they would both sit by the windowsill, both curled up with their respective books. They had started out on opposite sides of the windowsill, unsure of where they stood with each other after 2 years of nothing. But soon enough, they were curled up close to each other, TJ leaning against the window and Cyrus’ head on his lap, TJ’s fingers lazily running through TJ’s hair. 

Those afternoons were the most peaceful Cyrus had felt in a long time.

Cyrus had gotten so used to the routine, that he didn’t even listen through the Queen’s words before heading straight for the stables. 

However, one day, as Cyrus was gearing up to go back to the tower, Amber walked up behind him.

“I’m coming with you,” she declared, something that made Cyrus drop his sword on his foot (not the sharp part. That had happened before but not this time.)

“What?” he asked incredulously, turning to look at her.

“Cyrus,” she said, looking at him. “You’ve been fighting this thing for almost two years now. And you’re nowhere near getting rid of it. Face it, you need a mage’s help.”

“That’s really sweet, Amber, but uh, no thanks,” Cyrus fumbled, getting up on Philip. But Amber sighed, and grabbed the front of his armour, pulling him down.

“Wasn’t a question. I’m coming,” she said, and Cyrus just rolled his eyes. “Come on!” she said, letting go. “I never get to leave the fucking castle. And you’re out there having fun! Just let me come along. I need to get out of the castle before the Queen asks me to magic her another pair of shoes.”

After a minute, Cyrus groaned and nodded his head, and Amber excitedly climbed behind him, grabbing onto his shoulders. Cyrus rode out into the woods, nervousness growing in his stomach with every passing moment. _Was this a good idea? Probably not. But here he was and Amber was not going to let him go anytime soon unless he agreed._

They neared the tower, and Amber leaned to the side, peering ahead. “I don’t see any dragon.”

“Give it a minute,” Cyrus hissed, hoping that Iris had spotted another presence through her telescope that she used to keep track of when Cyrus was coming by. 

As if on cue, a low roar, shook the ground beneath them, and Amber gasped in excitement. 

“Oh. My. God. I’m going to see a real, live dragon!” she squealed, shaking Cyrus’ shoulders. 

_If only it were any of those things._

“TREMBLE BEFORE ME, BRAVE KNIGHT!” The voice boomed, and Cyrus had to hide his smile in front of Amber, knowing the face behind that voice. Cyrus dismounted from Philip, Amber closely following him, narrowly avoiding a fall as she tripped on her gown and cloak.

“Stand against my sword, foul beast!” Cyrus said, unable to keep the laziness from his voice, a fact that earned him a puzzled look from Amber. 

“You’re facing a dragon! Why do you sound like you’ve been with him for dinner and he’s harmless?!” she said, looking between him and the dragon, that reared its head.

“Stand back, Amber,” Cyrus said, stepping forward, as he swung at the dragon with his sword. The dragon stepped back, swiping at him with its claw, something Cyrus easily jumped over. It went on like this for a while, Cyrus doing the bare minimum to make sure Iris didn’t have to tire herself out too much by maintaining the illusion. But soon enough, he heard a frustrated groan from Amber. 

“Ugh, you’re useless!” she yelled stepping in front of Cyrus. 

“Um, Amber what are you doing?” Cyrus asked, eyes wide. Amber huffed, tying up her hair in a ponytail.

“Showing you how to properly slay a dragon, punk,” she said, holding her hands together. She twirled them together, muttering a spell under her breath. Suddenly, she pushed her hands forward, and a blast of light hit the dragon square in the chest, the energy knocking it back. Cyrus saw the illusion waver, but soon it grew solid again. _Iris was being challenged here._

The dragon roared, blowing fire at Amber, but since it was an illusion, it harmed no one. Amber looked around in puzzlement at the lack of burning, while Cyrus just silently facepalmed. 

“Guess I just need to fight fire with fire,” Amber muttered, twirling her hands as she muttered another spell, glaring at the dragon. 

“What are you doing, Amber?” Cyrus asked, the panic in his voice growing. 

“I’m about to flame this motherfucker,” Amber said, returning to his spell. 

In that moment, Cyrus got the unmistakeable feeling that if he didn’t do something, right that instant, everything would go to absolute hell. So, he did the only thing he could think of.

He ran in front of Amber and stood between her and the dragon, wildly shaking his hands. 

“Cyrus, get out of the way!” Amber hissed, jerking her head to the side. 

“No, Amber I can’t let you do this!” Cyrus pleaded.

“And why not? Why can’t I kill this reptile and free our kingdom, and restore-”

“Because the dragon isn’t real!”

For a moment, even the birds stopped chirping, and a deathly silence fell throughout the forest. It was only broken by Amber going, “What?”

Cyrus stood up straight, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s an illusion.” He then turned around to look at the window of the tower. “Iris, you can drop the illusion.”

And as suddenly as the dragon had appeared, it faded away, leaving no indication it had ever been there. Amber’s jaw dropped and she looked around wildly. 

“What, where?” she said, looking around. “What just happened?”

Just then, Iris opened the window and stared at Cyrus from the top of the tower.   
“Okay, can you explain what just happened?” she yelled, and Cyrus winced slightly.

“We’ll come up and talk, okay?” he called back.

“Wait,” Iris yelled looking over at Amber. “Who’s, who’s that?” she asked, in a voice that seemed almost nervous and softer. 

“I’ll come up and explain,” Cyrus said, heading over to the rose bush.

“Wait, who is that?” Amber asked, pointing up. 

“I’ll explain,” Cyrus sighed, dislodging the rock.

“Are we waiting for her to, like, let her hair down for us to climb?”

“What? No! What are you, stupid? I’m using my key,” Cyrus said, opening the door and heading u the stairs, Amber close in tow.

“Wait, you said, Iris,” Amber said, looking at Cyrus. “You, you don’t mean that’s…”

At that, the door opened, and Iris stood at the door, hand on her hip. “You owe me an explanation, Goodman.”

“Oh my god, it’s Princess Iris,” Amber whispered, bowing slightly. “Good fortune to lay my eyes on your Highness.”

“Ugh why does everyone have to be like that? It’s just iris,” Iris said, shaking her head as she grabbed Amber’s shoulder, looking at her with a soft smile. 

“Oh, okay, just Iris,” Amber said with a nervous giggle.

“Yeah, plans changed when Amber decided to join me today,” Cyrus said, setting down his sword as he gave Iris a hug, earning an unreadable look from Amber. “Catch being, she didn’t know the truth.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Iris said, smiling at him as she held up a book for Cyrus and handed him a cup of tea. 

“Ooh, ‘Great Expectations’, nice one,” Cyrus said with a smile as he sat down on the chair. Iris turned to Amber with a soft smile. 

“Would you, you know, like some tea?” she asked, nervously, and all Amber could do was nod shyly.

“So, Amber, what do you do now?” Iris asked after pouring out a cup of tea for her. “Last I remember you were a mage-in-training.”

“You, you know who I am?” Amber said nervously, looking up at Iris, who looked down, her cheeks tinged pink. 

“Yes of course I do,” she said with a smile, looking down at her hands. 

Amber giggled, a sound Cyrus had never heard before, causing him to sip his tea with a smirk as he looked at the two.

“Actually, I’m Head Mage now,” Amber said, and Iris smiled, impressed. 

“I’m just gonna, check on the food,” she said, getting up and wiping her hands on her trousers. 

“If you can even call it that,” Cyrus muttered, earning a shove in the shoulder from Iris. 

After she had left the room, Amber turned to Cyrus, her expression accusatory. “I know why you’ve been hiding the fact that she’s here,” she said quietly. 

“Because she asked me to?” Cyrus said slowly, taken aback by Amber’s tone.

“No,” she said, looking at him with an unsure expression. “It’s because you’re in love with her.”

“What?!” Cyrus said, scoffing. “Amber are you okay?”

“You are, aren’t you?” she said, her voice hurt more than anything else. “Even though you knew about what I felt!”

“No, I’m not!” Cyrus said, shaking his head, his voice growing louder

“How come?” Amber said, looking at him, her voice louder than before. 

“Because I’m in love with TJ!” Cyrus yelled, immediately clapping a hand over his mouth. 

Amber furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “Who’s TJ?”

“You’re in love with me?” said a voice from behind Cyrus, and he turned around to see TJ standing at the doorway of his room, looking at Cyrus, an expression of disbelief on his face. 

“TJ, I,” Cyrus stammered, walking up to him. But TJ grabbed his hands, looking him in the eye. Cyrus sighed, looking down at his feet, and nodded. 

“Hey,” TJ said gently, lifting up Cyrus’ chin. “I’m in love with you too, Cy.”

Cyrus sighed, letting out a small laugh. “Well, that’s a relief,” he said softly, looking up at TJ. 

TJ laughed before pulling Cyrus forward, kissing him. Cyrus sighed, wrapping his arms around TJ’s neck, and TJ grabbed Cyrus’ waist, pulling him closer. After they pulled away, they rested their foreheads against each other, giddy smiles on their faces as Cyrus bumped their noses together.

“Huh,” Amber said, looking at them. “Well, that took a turn for the ‘well that might as well happen’, I guess,” she said, earning a laugh from Iris, who set down dishes on the table. 

She smiled at Amber, walking over to her. 

“For the record,” she said, looking Amber in the eye. “Cyrus is great and all, but you don’t have to worry about him and me. My type is more,” she said, smirking at her. “Like you.” With that, Iris winked at her before setting the table, leaving Amber a stuttering and blushing mess.

“Amber, I think your face got replaced by a cherry,” Cyrus said, and Amber just grimaced and threw the finger at him. 

The afternoon progressed as normal, except Amber joined Iris in her room, where they talked for hours on end about everything and nothing. And if the two girls snuck glances at each other every opportunity they got, they knew they could go at whatever pace they wanted. They had time. 

TJ and Cyrus were on the windowsill, TJ leaning against the window, Cyrus on his lap. But this time, their fingers were lazily threaded together, and TJ kept rubbing his thumb against Cyrus’ palm, the action calming Cyrus down as he read. 

But the day ended as it always did. Cyrus kissed TJ goodbye, and gave Iris a hug before heading down the stairs. But before Amber could head down, Iris grabbed her by the elbow. 

“So, is this where we say goodbye?” she asked nervously, looking down at the ground. 

Amber smiled, bringing up Iris’ hand to kiss it before she replied, “Not by a long shot.”

With that, she headed down, joining Cyrus on Philip as they rode back to the kingdom, both throwing one last glance back at the tower, where Iris and TJ watched after them as they rode away.

It looked like the kingdom would be having a dragon problem for a while, but that was no problem for Amber Brown or Cyrus Goodman, the Mage and the Knight who fell for the Princess and the Stable Boy in the tower outside town.

**Author's Note:**

> i was so bored i was like lets do this cuz why not  
> sorry if its bad lol


End file.
